Chicago Fire Season 5 Episode 8 Review

100 episodes. That’s a huge milestone for any television show. But it is especially big if you are a fan of that show and if you have followed the show from the beginning. And, since last night Chicago Fire joined the 100-episode club, I thought, there hast to be a review here.

Warning, spoilers ahead!

With big episodes, we always expect something major to happen, old characters to appear and some long-standing story lines to be resolved. And Chicago Fire did that perfectly in their 100th episode. And, since coincidentally this episode was also their mid-season finale, we even got a big cliffhanger at the end of it. So now we have to wait until January 3, to see how the events resolve.

Main story of this Chicago Fire episode

The driving force of this Chicago Fire episode was Dawsey and them wanting to adopt Louie. I remember, when the first episode Chicago Fire season 5 premiered, I was so happy to see Gabby and Matt finally together for real and raising Louie. And this episode we saw them consider the next big step – permanent adoption of Louie.

But of course, it wouldn’t be Chicago Fire if first they wouldn’t have to face obstacles. The biggest of them being, that, since Gabby and Matt aren’t married, they couldn’t adopt Louie together. So Dawson applied for the adoption as a single parent. That of course saddened Matt, since he really loves Louie and wants to be his father in every way possible. And just as we thought that the episode is ending with the adoption still up in the air, Gabby and Matt went and got married.

That’s right, we finally got a Dawsey wedding! But it wasn’t the elaborate shining we thought it will be. No, they tied the know in the courthouse, dressed in their uniforms and surrounded by their Firehouse 51 family. When you think about it, it couldn’t be more perfect. Simple, sweet, loving and spur-of-the-moment, just as their relationship had been and just as this show is.

Mollies 100

The other big part of this milestone episode of Chicago Fire was Mollie’s celebrating 100 years of being a Chicago bar. But everything wasn’t rosy here either. First came Herrmann’s worries about the expenses of this celebration, followed by a reporter doing unfavorable story about the firefighter bar. But as Herrmann and the rest of Mollie’s gang were giving up their hopes, Chicago surprised them and gave them not only a ton of customers but also new hope.

I got to say that the Mollies 100th anniversary was a genial way how to really mark this 100th episode of the show. The bar and it’s 100 years was like an analogy for Chicago Fire and their 100 episodes. Starting with the history of the bar which could very well be Dick Wolf and his legacy. Then continuing with the city of Chicago, because it really is another Chicago Fire character. And ending with the family and love remarks in Herrmann’s speech, which no doubt was a love letter not only to the fans of the show, but also to all the cast and crew that have worked on the show over these 5 years. I couldn’t imagine more heartfelt and beautiful way to commemorate 100 episodes of Chicago Fire.

Severide’s musings

A smaller but still undeniable part of this episode was also Severide and his story line this episode. We started to see a different side of Severide. We are used to seeing Severide the though Firefighter and Severide the womanizer. But now it seems that he is finally realizing, that there is more to life than that. That there are permanent relationships that bring so much more than one-night stands.

On top of that, based on the episode 9 promo, it seems that the next Chicago Fire episode will be through and through a Severide episode. However, since it is a crossover between Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., it looks like it won’t be all rainbows and unicorns. We will just have to wait until January 3 to see how it plays out.

The cliffhanger

Of course, this couldn’t be a mid-season finale of Chicago Fire without a big old cliffhanger. Just as we thought that everything is all right in the Dawsey-land, and they will finally become the legal parents of Louie, Louie’s real father shows up and says that he wants his son back.

From the moment that Matt noticed the man outside their home, I had a feeling that he probably is Louie’s biological father. I just hope that this won’t take away Gabby and Matt’s chance of raising Louie, because they finally seem truly happy together. And 5 seasons are enough for me to get bored of their will-they-won’t-they game, so I want to see them permanently together going forward.

Last thoughts

Did you notice, that this episode we finally saw two of Squad 3’s less featured members, Capp and Tony, actually speaking and saying more than just a word or two? It’s a small detail, but nonetheless I loved it, because I consider them as much of a part of the Chicago Fire cast as any other actor is. And of course Jeff Clark was also back on this flagship show. Of course he is staring in the Chicago Fire spin-off Chicago Med, but it was nice seeing him on Chicago Fire again and interacting with Severide.

Episode highlights:

• Louie talking
• Severide pondering his life in Matt’s bunk
• Ottis coming up with the Mollies 100 idea
• Brett’s fear of clowns (hilarious!!!)
• Gabby and Matt finding out that they are fast-tracked to adopt Louie
• Matt admitting that he wants to be a father to Louie legally, too
• Jeff Clark being back on Chicago Fire
• the moment between Matt and Louie
• Herrmann’s speech at Mollie’s party
• Louie calling Matt dad
• Dawsey getting married
• Firehouse 51 showing up to support Matt and Gabby
• Severide deciding to be a bone marrow donor

Episode let-downs:

• Louie’s biological father showing up to ruin the Dawsey happiness
• the promo of next episode not showing anything about the Louie adoption situation

Quote of the episode:
Hermann: “This place was built on Chicago soil, and original soil was rough and bloody and full of grit. It’s true. But Mollie’s.. Mollie’s foundation is built on love. I don’t care if it’s corny. It’s build on love, and you can feel it every time you walk in here. So, thank you everyone for coming here today, new friends, old.. You know, it’s nice to look back, but us, we here at Mollie’s, we always look to the future. So here is to the next one hundred.”

Promo for Chicago Fire season 5 episode 9:

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